Author: BXD
New York Times: New Help for Poor Immigrants Who Are in Custody and Facing Deportation
The new initiative, called the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, emerged from several years of study and lobbying among immigration lawyers and immigrants’ advocates. They were concerned that the absence of competent legal representation for many of New York’s immigrant detainees was resulting in unnecessary deportations that ruptured families and put an undue financial […]
Blueprint for Community Safety in the Bronx (Survey)
We need your help! The Bronx Defenders has created a Blueprint for Public Safety in the Bronx Survey to present to the next Mayor of New York City in January. Provide your input on how together we can make the Bronx safer for everyone. If you have five minutes, we just have a few quick […]
NY Daily News: ‘Bronx Freedom Fund’ Pays Bail So Poor Misdemeanor Defendants Can Avoid Jail Time
Bronx residents who can’t make their bail now have a financial backer who can help them avoid jail time. The Bronx Freedom Fund has already helped five cash-strapped defendants charged with misdemeanor crimes avoid pretrial detention since it launched last week. Clients, many of whom have no prior arrests and face minor drug charges, are […]
The Uptown Chronicle: Stop and Frisk – A Daily Reality
Jahlanni Greene, 17, is a happy high school student. Aki Ferguson, 25, is a butcher. Jason Stewart, 32, is a maintenance worker. All three lead different lives and are different ages, but they are all black men, they all live in Hunts Point and they have all been stopped and frisked by the officers of […]
The New York Law Journal: The Bronx Defenders and Robin Steinberg
The Bronx Defenders, with a staff of about 200 advocates, provides support and services inside and outside the courtroom to more than 30,000 clients year. The Bronx Defenders notes that one in three people arrested are never convicted of a crime, yet they suffer drastic collateral consequences from their arrest alone. Up to 40 percent […]
The Olympian: Public Defense System Seeks To Cure Root Issues
Daryl Rodrigues is someone who can find some good in just about anyone ensnared in the justice system for crimes they often, but not always, committed. As director of the Thurston County Office of Assigned Counsel, he has plenty of opportunity to search for redeeming qualities in defendants. He oversees 17 attorneys, two paralegals and […]
Emma Ketteringham spoke at the 2013 International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Denver, CO on October 26th, 2013
On Saturday, October 26th, Emma Ketteringham, Managing Attorney of the Bronx Defenders’ Family Defense Practice, was a panelist for a roundtable discussion on the drug war’s impact on the criminal justice system during the 2013 International Drug Policy Reform Conference. The International Drug Policy Reform Conference is an event that happens every two years with […]
NBC News: Family Separated After Family Court Closes Early
This week, Channel 4 news brought attention to the harm being caused to families by the lack of resources provided to New York City Family Courts. For those of us at The Bronx Defenders who represent parents in Bronx Family Court, the investigation revealed a devastating daily reality: family court can be a saddening and […]
MintPress News: Does Bail Really Work To Promote Justice?
Former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy once said: “What has been demonstrated here is that usually only one factor determines whether a defendant stays in jail before he comes to trial. That factor is not guilt or innocence. It is not the nature of the crime. It is not the character of the defendant. That […]
New York Times: New, Young Help for Poor in Infamous Bronx Courts
On a recent afternoon in the South Bronx, Cordice Smith, a 79-year-old Korean War veteran wearing a Yankees hat, was standing in the tiled lobby of his apartment building — something he no longer takes for granted. Earlier this year, he almost lost his home after receiving a letter from his landlord’s lawyer: an eviction […]